The Stranger's Obituary

by Jessica L. Randall

  “Sounds like a deal.” He put his hand out. She reluctantly took it. He stared into her eyes in that intense way of his as his hand held hers. Her heart thumped in her chest, and she had to remind herself to breathe again, but for entirely different reasons. She pulled her hand away, then weaved her fingers tightly together in her lap.

  Could she believe him? There was silence for a moment, except for the relentless wind pressing against the barn and whistling through the gaps, and the rain ticking against the roof.

  “I guess I want to believe something incredible,” he said. “There's a grain of hope left inside me that there's more than cheating spouses and rehab stories out there. That stuff wears you down after a while. You know, believe it or not, I wasn't always this way. I used to be a real photographer.”

  “But you weren't any good at it?” She shrugged out of her sweater.

  “I was pretty good. Starved for my art and everything. I just—hey, that gift of yours. It has something to do with music, right? I mean, that's the story. You hear a song, and you can see what happened to someone while that song was playing.”

  “That's the story.”

  What was he getting at?

  He stood up and offered her his hand again. She stared at it for a moment. The way it made her feel the last time did not fit in to her pursuit of safety and security. She sighed and took it anyway. He pulled her to her feet.

  “I want to give it a try. Can't hurt, right?”

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “Let me see, the song goes like—” His face pinched up with remembering, or the pain of it.

  Mina closed her eyes, her breath quickening. Breathe.

  He pulled her in, placing a hand on her waist. She stiffened, ready to jerk away, but even though there was a part of her that wished he'd been whisked away by a tornado before reaching the barn, another part of her was drawn to him. She wanted to know more about him. If nothing else, know your enemy was a strategy, right?

  She knew this could end badly, as it had before, but she let him pull her closer, cracks spreading through her carefully constructed barrier as they swayed. Then he began to sing, the phrases in quiet bursts. The truth was, Mina loved music. She'd felt betrayed by it when all the trouble started. That's when she'd ripped all her posters off her wall and smashed her CDs. Slowly she'd let it back into her life, but she still avoided it in public, and she mostly listened to newer artists, songs with no associations, no memories she'd stolen from other people attached to them.

  She'd never heard this song. He sounded nice, right on pitch but effortless. She felt the vibrations of the low, warm voice in her hair, the breath on her neck. She relaxed, melting into his shoulder. Maybe nothing would come, and she could just have this moment, all by itself.

  Then she saw it. The emotions of the reporter sitting in his car bled into the air so she felt them as if they were hers. The radio was playing. This song. He was watching through the window as a man and a beautiful woman came out the door of a brownstone. She could feel them too. That's just how this worked.

  Before closing the door, the man grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her as if she was his world. She kissed him back, as if he was a corner of hers. Then she pulled back, laughing, and walked down the steps to the sidewalk. The reporter’s eyes followed her. Crushed.

  That's why she hated this “gift”. She didn't need to know this. Didn't need to share this humiliating moment. Why had he asked her to? Was he just playing along?

  “Once, I hung my happiness on other people,” he said into her ear. She was glad he wasn't singing anymore. “I was suspicious, jealous. I had reason to be. And that's how I came to find I was good at this snooping around business. I stopped seeing the beauty in the world, stopped being naive. Found a job that paid the bills.”

  He stepped back and looked into her face. She tried to hide what she'd seen.

  “And now you know me.” He said. “And you can call me Calvin.”

  She didn't know him, but that intimate moment made her feel dangerously close to him, another negative side effect of her ability. It went against everything she'd worked to build up for years. But in her chest, that fluttery thing that whispered crazy ideas, like jumping on a plane and flying to Thailand, flapped its wings hard.

  “Calvin, then. You're not wearing a sweater vest anymore, so I'll have to call you something.”

  Chapter 11

  Reception

  Calvin had never told anyone about that. Even if she hadn't really seen it, he felt like he'd shared it with Mina. Inches away, looking into her eyes, he knew she felt something.

  He mustered up all that mostly-false confidence, the veneer he'd been wearing for years. She was a woman who kept her distance. He did too, in a way, but he was good at hiding it.

  When it came to his job, he took chances all the time, right? He went after anything he wanted and got it. But that was work.

  He leaned in slowly, afraid she might burst into vapor if he spooked her, and touched his lips to hers. He thought she'd slap him, or worse. Instead she kissed him back. He couldn't help wondering, as he'd watched her window, hoping for a glimpse of her face, what a reserved person like herself had building up inside. When it broke free he lost his balance and stumbled backwards.

  They both froze; the moment shimmering in the air between them, as unexpected as if the sun had burst through the clouds.

  “You've been keeping that to yourself all these years? Hardly seems fair.”

  His cell phone rang. It was the most unwelcome sound he'd ever heard, but reception was good news. They wouldn't die in here. He hurried and grabbed it off the floor to hush it. When he saw it was his boss, he knew he should press ignore, but he tapped accept and brought it to his ear instead.

  The thing he'd forgotten was that Luis had an uncommonly loud and obnoxious voice, just like the stereotype in the movies. Even with the rain, it seemed to fill the space between him and Mina.

  “You get anything on America's Sweetheart yet?”

  His eyes darted to Mina, and he prayed she couldn't hear. He could see her moving in closer. “Not y—”

  “How about that weird sister of hers or the mother?”

  “Sir, I can't hear you, we're in the middle of a—sorry, I—” He turned off the phone.

  When he looked back at Mina, her wall was up again. He could feel the animosity radiating off her. She stepped back, looking like she'd drunk poison. He didn't taste that bad a minute ago.

  She tilted her head, as if listening.

  “Mina!” Calvin heard it this time too. It repeated, closer this time.

  Mina rushed to the door, pounding on it. “We're in here! Bernie!”

  Calvin rubbed his temple and tried to regain his composure. What had he hoped for? That the world had suddenly become a happy-ending place for him. That they'd be stuck in this old barn for hours together, and eventually they'd leave hand in hand? Getting involved with Mina was a mistake. He'd wanted her to let him in. He wasn't supposed to get lost in her.

  Bernadette was on the other side of the door, banging and calling out to Mina.

  “Are you in there?”

  “Yes, we're here.”

  “We?”

  “Me and that ... reporter.”

  She turned around and shot him a hollow look. He was glad it was too dark to see her face in detail, and even more relieved that she couldn't see his. One second she was kissing him, the next he didn't have a name again.

  She turned away from him.

  “The one that would do anything to get what he wants.”

  He could try convincing her that he'd meant what he said, and that kiss. But what was the point? He'd decided a long time ago that work came first. People, while a fascinating distraction, were only as important as they were useful to each other. It was no surprise he'd picked up that phone.

  “What's blocking the door?” Mina asked.

  “A tree. It's pretty big. I'll have to get help,�
�� Bernadette answered.

  “No. Wait a minute. There's a window in here. Maybe we can get out that way.” Mina turned to look at Calvin, then edged toward the window as if another inch closer to him would infect her with something fatal. “That could take forever to move. Besides, we don't need a bunch of Auburn's finest citizens seeing that we were shut up in here together. The rumors would fly.”

  “You wouldn't want anyone thinking something happened between you and me,” he said with a half-grin. “So, what do you propose we do?”

  “We get out of here. Now.”

  “Let me guess. I'll be the living step ladder, and you get to walk all over me.” That's how it usually went with the women he knew.

  “Since you offered.”

  “And how do I get out?”

  “Don't worry. I won't leave you here. Even if it would make my life a lot easier.”

  She stalked to the window. He picked up her sweater and tossed it to her before shuffling after her. They stood facing each other under the window. Calvin waited for her instructions. He wasn't going to so much as touch her without permission. He didn't need to give her anything more to hate him for, at least not now. For a moment she'd let her guard down, and if he hadn't kissed her he'd be a lot closer to getting the information he wanted and getting out of this place.

  Mina looked down at her mud-coated shoes, and Calvin sighed with relief when she tugged them off.

  “I'd rather not step on you,” she said. “Could you just ... put your hands together, give me a lift.”

  Calvin knelt down and locked his fingers together. Mina placed her foot in his hands and he lifted her gradually as she reached for the edge of the window. Finally she caught hold, but her hand slipped. She lost her balance, arms flailing, and Calvin wrapped his arms around her legs, steadying her. A long second passed, with his cheek pressed against her thigh.

  Mina cleared her throat. “I have it. Just a little boost.”

  Calvin stood as tall as he could. Finally, Mina pulled herself up, and Calvin was able to separate himself from her legs. She held onto the top of the window. Her feet scraped against the wall until they finally climbed up the side.

  “Bernie,” Mina called, “drag that over here.”

  He heard a hollow, metallic scraping sound, and Mina disappeared over the edge.

  “My shoes?” she shouted from outside.

  “I think I'll just hold onto those until you find me a way out of here.”

  “You think I have a problem with going barefoot?”

  He remembered watching her as she walked in the rain, more relaxed then he'd ever seen her. She'd probably enjoy it.

  The voices outside faded, and Calvin was left to wait alone. With every passing minute, he became more nervous. He'd spent a while shoving on the front door, and scouring the barn for something that might help him reach that window. Now he just sat slumped against the wall.

  Twenty minutes later Mina popped her head in through the window. She found a hook sticking out from the wall and fastened the rope around it, then dropped it down.

  “I keep my promises,” she said. “All I can hope is that you'll do the same.”

  When Calvin jumped from the empty metal barrel under the barn window, there was no one else in sight.

  Chapter 12

  A Picture's Worth a Diner Brawl

  “How long before school lets out?” Bernadette asked, noticing a high school student parking an old beater across the street.

  She'd been wiping down a table, staring out the window at the sidewalk, which was still ripped apart and strung with yellow crime scene tape. There were a few things that left her mind reeling that day. But even more than the distraught woman that had appeared again, or the pile of bones, was the image of Doug grabbing her and holding her in the rain like that. It was as if everything that had happened between them, all the years apart, had washed away for a moment. But that moment was over. Now things were even more uncomfortable than when she'd first arrived.

  She'd packed her bags to leave, ready to run back to her “real” life and piece everything back together. But she couldn't do it. She had things to do here. She needed to help save Doug's restaurant.

  And she had to make things right with Mina, too. After Bernadette had helped her sister out of that barn, Mina actually threw her arms around her, a rare display of emotion for Mina. Bernadette realized she could have a sister again.

  As for Doug's restaurant, the kid outside had given her an idea.

  “School's out in about a month,” Doug called from the window. “Why?”

  She turned around and walked into the kitchen, lowering her voice so the customers wouldn't hear.

  “What if you gave them some incentive for coming here? I mean, a high school student can't afford a full-priced meal at the diner every day. What if they showed their student ID and got a discount, or you added some lower-cost items like corn dogs. You could even have special value shakes during after school hours, when business is slower. And sponsor something at the high school or have a contest to get their attention.”

  “Hmm.” Doug tightened his lips and nodded. She could see the gears turning in his head as he thought it over. “She's done it again. This could become the place where the kids hang out. I like it. But will my regulars?”

  “If it works, they'll adjust. Come a bit earlier or later. And maybe you could do something to let them know you appreciate them too. Early bird specials at 5, maybe even Bingo nights or something.”

  “That's a lot of specials.”

  She shrugged. “You'd be selling more for food for less, but once people are in here they'll order other things, and besides, you'll also be selling more during slow hours. And we'll find some items to add to the menu to maximize profits.”

  He let out a puff of breath and looked at her with those sparkly blue eyes.

  “Boy, do I need someone like you.” Then the light died out as if he'd realized what he said.

  Bernadette broke eye contact, quickly turning to look at the customers.

  Doug cleared his throat. “Um, I think we should try it. But what about summer, when school's out?”

  “Cut off the city water source, contaminate the wells, and be the only place to get water. $4.99 a glass.”

  She grinned and glanced at him, noticing how the corner of his mouth turned up.

  “Brutal. I like it.”

  Bernadette swallowed, but the lump in her throat remained. That's probably what he really thought of her.

  It didn't matter, as long as he stayed in business. With the economy the way it was, and Susan Walters doing everything she could to hurt Doug, it wouldn't be easy.

  From smug remarks she'd overheard, Susan hoped the discovery of human remains outside the diner would be bad for business, but it had had the opposite effect. It was a good excuse to come sneak a look at the scene, even though the bones had been removed. Morbid as it was, that was human nature.

  “Speaking of brutal,” Bernadette said, “I wouldn't be surprised if Susan Walters decides to stand at the door and scare your customers off one by one.”

  “Pshhh.” Doug dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

  Bernadette wished she could laugh off Susan's animosity. But she'd seen first-hand what Susan was capable of.

  “Doug, be careful,” she said quietly. She knew he was looking at her. She went to get change for the register, keeping her face out of Doug's line of vision.

  He followed after her. “Why?”

  Her heartbeat quickened as she braced herself for more questions. She tried to keep her voice level.

  “She's pretty determined when she's got a grievance.”

  Doug was practically breathing down her neck.

  “What'd she do?”

  “Shhh.” Bernadette could tell he wasn't going to give up. Her stomach was churning at the idea of discussing it. But she had to tell him something. She sighed and turned to face him. “Susan hated my mother. Like it was her fault Tro
y showed up at our house with a pathetic, burned plate of cookies. He suspected Susan was cheating. But she was careful. My mom told him what would happen and where. The when wasn't so easy, but he was able to get the proof.”

  “And Susan got nothing in the divorce.”

  “Yeah. You know Susan's fascination with the law.” She rolled her eyes, remembering her threats to sue Doug. “She was probably the only one around here that had a pre-nup drawn up. It bit her in the butt.”

  “And she blamed your mom? That's crazy.”

  Bernadette shrugged and nodded.

  “So what did she do?”

  Bernadette shook her head. “It doesn't matter now. But I'm making it worse for you, hanging around here. It's obvious there's already a huge target on your head where Susan is concerned.”

  And yet she knew getting out of the way wouldn't be enough to save Doug's. She had to stay long enough to figure out a way to keep the restaurant running, to pay back what she'd done to him, not that money ever could. Doug had been right about that.

  Bernadette started moving toward the dining room. Now would be a good time to check on the customers, before Doug pressed her for any more information.

  He grabbed her arm.

  “I'm not afraid of Susan. And if she messes with you, I have your back.”

  Bernadette pulled away, blinking back tears as she left the kitchen. He probably would have protected her back then, too. So why had she done something so stupid? Doug didn't know she'd paid for her mother's involvement in a big way, and so had he. Susan had backed off, but now that Bernadette was back, Susan was ticking like a human time-bomb. Bernadette tried to pretend it didn't make her uneasy.

  The bells on the door rang as two men walked in, one tall, skinny, and wearing a ball cap, the other shorter and heavy-set. They glanced curiously around the diner. When their eyes fell on Bernadette, they whispered to each other, grabbing for their cell phones.

  This happened every so often. Why people bothered to drive hundreds of miles just to see Bernadette Fairchild waiting tables was beyond her, but they did. Some of them were jerks who thought she'd fallen low enough that she'd accept anyone kind enough to ask her out. Obnoxious people were something you learned to deal with early on in this business. But most of them were fans who were just excited to see her without a security detail.